Free agent starter Ryan Vogelsong was said to be working on a deal with the Astros and even traveled to Houston on Monday to meet with team officials. But it appears those negotiations have suddenly collapsed. From the Twitter account of FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal …

The Tribe walks off against Texas, MadBum was dominant and V-Mart goes yard again. Note: if you were not a baseball fan, you would have no idea what any of the stuff in the previous sentence meant. It’s just barely English, yet we all get it. Cool, huh?

Scott Kazmir finished last season very strong with a 2.57 ERA and 43/4 K/BB ratio in five September starts and pitched well overall for the Indians, but when it came time to cash in as a free agent teams proved skeptical about his career being back on track after he fell all the way down to independent ball.

You could hear the collective shriek from Orioles fans on Sunday when Nelson Cruz was struck on the left hand by a Scott Feldman fastball. But all is well. Cruz is in the Orioles’ starting lineup for Tuesday night’s series-opener against the Rangers.

Between now and Opening Day, HardballTalk will take a look at each of baseball’s 30 teams, asking the key questions, the not-so-key questions, and generally breaking down their chances for the 2014 season. Next up: The Houston Astros. The Big Question: One hundred losses again, right? Depends on how long the Astros keep their prospects on…

Houston has named Scott Feldman as its Opening Day starter after signing the veteran right-hander to a three-year, $30 million contract as a free agent this offseason. Feldman is 31 years old with a 4.62 career ERA and it would be easy to make some jokes about him being the Astros’ choice, but whatever. They’re…

The Cubs and starter Jeff Samardzija recently agreed to a salary of $5.345 million for the 2014 season to avoid arbitration. It offered nothing in the way of progress between the two sides, who have been discussing a multi-year contract extension. The Cubs reportedly offered the right-hander $55 million over five years back in December,…

Jake Arrieta was expected to compete for a rotation spot with the Cubs this spring, but it sounds like he’ll have to wait to get his opportunity. According to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said today that Arrieta felt shoulder tightness over the winter and is not expected to be ready…

Having finished with baseball’s worst record three straight years, the Astros have mastered the art of being bad. And it’s worked out for them; thanks to their early draft picks and some veteran-for-prospects trades, they now boast one of the game’s very best farm systems. That left the Astros with a decision to make entering…

The Cubs and 28-year-old reliever Pedro Strop have avoided arbitration with a one-year deal worth $1.325 million, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. This was Strop’s first year of arbitration eligibility. The Cubs acquired Strop along with Jake Arrieta in a trade with the Orioles on July 2 last season. They sent Scott Feldman…